The United Kingdom approved Pfizer/BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine, becoming the first Western nation to approve a coronavirus vaccine. The vaccine was 95 percent effective in preventing infections and caused no serious health concerns during its Phase 3 trial. The first doses of the vaccine are expected to be rolled out next week.
"We believe it is really the start of the end of the pandemic," said BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin.
The UK has ordered enough doses to vaccinate 20 million people and plans to have "many millions" more before the end of the year. The elderly, caretakers, and health workers will be among the first to receive vaccines.
According to CNN, "the rollout will start with people in nursing homes and their carers, followed by those aged 80 and over and frontline health and social workers. It will then filter down to the general public by age, with older groups coming first. Individuals with underlying health conditions that make them vulnerable to the virus will be able to receive the shot after the over-65 group is vaccinated."
The vaccine must be taken in two doses 21 days apart. Sahin added that patients should have full immunity against the coronavirus seven days after the second dose.
BioNTech Chief Commercial Officer Sean Marett hopes to have 50 million doses ready by the end of December. The U.S. is expected to receive 100 million doses, while the European Union will receive 200 million.
Moderna's vaccine is awaiting approval in multiple countries. The company expects to have 20 million doses available in the United States by the end of 2020 and as many as 1 billion in 2021.
Source: CNN
